Cotton picker spindle



y 1950 T.- M. SEARLES 2,508,842

COTTON PICKER SPINDLE Filed Aug. 20, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 1 WEI'IIII-III I May 23, 1950 T. M. SEARLES COTTON PICKER SFINDLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 20, 1945 klllll lrl llll KI Jfi z/emof Thomas Mijearie by M5 7 7773771695 W4?- my y 1950 I T. M. SEARLES 2,508,842

cow'rou PICKER SPINDLE Filed Aug. 20, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 InvenTor Tfiomas M 560F765 by 71115 H 770M695 May 23, 1950 T. M. SEARLES COTTON PICKER SPINDLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 20, 1945 jnvenfor y 2 1950 T.-M. SEARLES 2,508,842

COTTON PICKER SPINDLE Filed Aug. 20, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5- Thomas M 5660765 Patented May 23,

UNITED STATES PATENT OF COTTON PICKER SPINDLE Thomas M. Searles, Memphis, Tenn.

Application August 20, 1945, Serial No. 611,542

Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in cotton pickers, specifically of the type wherein the cotton staple is removed from the plant by contact with rotating fingers.

An object of this invention is to provide a jpicking mechanism which is self-contained, requiring neither separate motive power nor vehicle to receive the harvested crop. A second object is to provide a mechanism which is simple in construction and easily maintained. A third object is to provide a picker which will remove :substantially all ripe and open staple on the plants, while avoiding to the greatest possible degree the contamination of the staple with leaf and boll trash. A fourth object is to provide a picker which is rapid, equaling the work of a great number of human pickers.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cotton picker constructed in accordance with the invention with the outside cover partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the structure of Fig. 1 with the covers suitably broken away to disclose the operating mechanism of the picker;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the cotton picker;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in plan showing one of the picker assemblies;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing one of the fingers progressing through the dofiers as seen in the position at 8-8 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section of one picker finger; I

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of one of the finger blades;

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the structure of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a perspective of a modified form of picker finger; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail showing the engaging device for the finger spindle drive shaft gear and the driving rack.

My cotton picker comprises essentially the provision of a light weight tubular frame having a pair of driving wheels mounted at the rear of the frame and a pair of castered steering wheels at the forward end of the frame. A standard internal combustion engine is mounted centrally at the top of the frame, and is adapted to drive the picker mechanism, a pair of blowers and also to provide propelling force for the driving wheels. A tunnel extends longitudinally through the center of the picker, and a series of vertically arranged rotatable picking fingers enter the tunnel at the front to engage the cotton plants. As the fingers reach the rear of the tunnel, they are drawn through a series of Wipers or doffers which disengage the cotton fibre from the fingers whereupon the cotton is carried into a large container mounted on the frame.

The features of especial importance in my picker reside in the details of the construction and operation of the picker fingers. First, in the preferred form, it is never necessary to remove the fingers themselve since they are provided with blades which may be readily replaced in service. Second, adjacent vertically disposed fingers in each bank are counter-rotating, and it has been found that such counter-rotation greatly increases the picking efficiency. A third and further important feature resides in th fact that the finger carriers are pivoted on a vertical axis so that a minimum width for the picker may be achieved, this feature enables the cotton rows to be more closely planted which in turn increases the yield per acre.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the picker is constructed of a tubular frame designated generally at 20 on which is mounted a pair of front steering wheels 2!, 2|, which are actuated by a conventional steering linkage 22 and steering wheel 23. The driving wheels 24 are journaled at the rear of frame 20 and are driven by a conventional internal combustion engine 25 mounted on the top of frame member 20 directly in back of the 0perators seat 26. A wire mesh basket 27 is mounted on the frame 29 over the driving wheels 24 and may be pivoted at 2B, 28 to enable convenient emptying thereof. 7 A jackshaft housing 29 is mounted in back of motor 25 and is provided with a standard differential (not shown), and a pair of sprockets 30, 30 throughwhich wheels 25, 2:3 are driven by means of chains-3|, 3i, and sprockets 30, 30.

A pair of blowers 32, 32 are positioned on the frame substantially over sprockets 30, 30 and are adapted to discharge into basket 21 through pipes 33, 33. Drive for the blowers is by means of a belt 34 connecting pulleys 35 and 36 on blower shaft 31 and power takeoff 38 respectively. The drive shaft 39 of motor 25 is provided with a toothed clutch assembly 45 adapted to selectively drive the picker mechanism through chain 4|. Both clutch 40 and the power takeoff clutch 42 are actuated by means of convenient control lever 43 at the drivers position. Conventional clutch and brake pedals 44 and 44a may also be supplied if desired. It will be understood thatthe described hereinafter.

general frame assembly, power and control devices of the picker are more or less conventional but the entire arrangement is such that great saving in weight may be accomplished b utilizing welded tubular frame construction together with the proper relative positioning of the various parts.

The cotton picking mechanism as distinguished from the driving and control mechanism just described, some a most important feature of the invention. The picker is provided with a narrow tunnel which extends from front to rear of the picker along the center line thereof. In eifect, the sides of the tunnel are formed :frm sheet metal guards i and 52 which extend forwardly around the steering wheels and enciose the entire picker as shown in Fig. 3. The top .of the picker, with the exception of basket 21, is enclosed by means of a hood or guard 53. It will be readily understood that the sheet metal guards are made [an convenient sections so that any desired part thereof may be removed for inspection or service.

The tunnel sides formed by guards 5 and '52 are provided with a plurality of horizontal slits 5E1, 54 through which the picking fingers .55, 55 protrude as shown in Figs.;4:and 5. Since the gerstilt downwardly, .slits '54 likewise curve downwlardly at theforward and rear termini thereof to provide ample {clearance for finger movement.

The tunnelzroof 5011 together with the tunnel :sides .5rl and "5.2 prevent dust and foreign matter from reaching the working parts of the picker. Furthermore, it will be understood that the tuninel :sides '51 and -52 are interchangeable.

filihe :fiingers 55 are mounted on rotatable spinidles 156 (-Ftig. 5*) journaled in @a vertical 2081131191 551 In the embodiment described herein, there are eight fingers in each zcarrier disposed one above theiother, but it will be understood that anypropfer number may be utilized, Each .carrier 51 also .anonnts a vertioahspindle drive shaft 58 in bearings 59, 59. Shaft 58 carries a plurality of :compound gear members .6-9, 6!! having a beveled zgearzfillaiatone end thereof and a crown gear 69b :at the other end thereof. Since the spindles 55 are mounted in :carrier 5:! at an ang1e,:the-.beve1 igea'iss 5011 are designed sto mesh with the :under sides of alternate zbe eledgears 61, 16] oil-spindles 1,56. The crown gears cat are adapted to mesh with athe top-f gears 6-|,-it;bein-g understood that the compound gearitll :is mounted between .pairs of spindles 5.5,. thus providing for counter-rotation ofzadjacent spindles and fingers. This coun ten-rotation ,has been found to greatly increase the :p'icki-ng efliciency since the bolls are not ;brushed over ibut .are retained in a substantially upright position :until the bolls have been thoroughly cleaned.

The spindles 56 are mounted-in'bushings B2 in thecarrierand the compound gears 60 arei'pinned to shaft 58 at 63. Shaft 518 carries at its upper extremity a pinion gear 64 through which the shaft is intermittently driven in a manner to be 7 The carriers 5! .are supported along the tunnel walls by meansofa guide EE-adapted to e'ngage blocks 65 bolted to thecarrier base at- 61,431. At the top of eachcarrien latera-l positioning isachieved by means of a channel mem'ber fifl attached to the frame by'bo1ts 69and adapted to receive a guide roller 10 at the top of the;carrier. An upper guide-plate H attached to the tunnel wall by bolt 12 servesto assist in latera1 positioning of the carriers as they move along 'the outside of the tunnel walls 5! and 52.

stricted by oppositely disposed extensions 13 and 14 carried by the frame, the extensions serving to guide the cotton plants into the tunnel and in engagement with the fingers.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, the carriers together with the fingers are adapted to revolve about a pair of vertically disposed driving shafts and Bi journaled in the frame by bearings 82 and 83. Each shaft carries lower sprockets 84 and 8! and upper sprockets 85 and 85'. An upper roller chain 86 is carried by upper sprockets 85, 335' and a lower roller chain 81 is carried by lower sprockets 84 and 84'. The carriers 51 are mounted on chains 8-6 and 81 by means of pins 8-8 and -89 attached to chain 8'! and 86 respectively. Pivotal movement of the carriers on pins 88 and 9 about a vertical axis i provided and it is this pivotal movement which enables the fingers 55 to be substantially retracted during the return travel along the outside of the picker.

Refe rin ow o i 1, it wi l b o e t the upp r porti n 5 a of each ca r r i bi u sat d to or a relatively l ng arm 57 and a short arm 51c. Arms 53c engage B9 and mount the car iers on chain :86, 'lihe banter of ac 289 is line with he 1 s at-1 5$ a w l as ow r pin 18.8 as sh wn i E g- -ivetm of the carrier assemblies on pins 88 and 89 is offected through arms 51b and rollers is which run in a chann l r m 45 Where the fin e extend through slots :54 in tunnel filLthe fingers are po io d a r g anss to th enter linge the tunnel. This-is achieved by locating channel .68 in such a position that the r llers 10 ar substantially over chain 36 along 21313113 inside zlength of chain as the fingers progress towards the rear of the tunnel. .;It twill-be=notedthatcham nel 8 :has a sharper radius than sprocket 185 in order to pivot the canriers on pins-3g and 8,9 to ma ntain the fin ers in the tunn n a n arly tra sverse position. channel 3 con ues with a shorter radius than sprocket d5' so that as the .lfingersiand carriers progressraround sprocket 85' the :axes of the-spindles 5,6 are Kbiased back-wardly with respect to rthe pins 8,8 anddli. positioning of the carriers {continues along the return -.travel1of -the chains so :that the fingers :are apivoted to the relatively closely spaced inopenative position shown n 'Ei A, El ie confi ura ion f channel 63 at the forward end is such-that ,the carriers-a p v ted.c t carr er pins 28:8 and 89 to presen thafin ers orm in o-tunne B a they enter :slots 54. To enable this r sult to be achi ed. chan el 165 e-zderids zqu ward e o sprocket 85 at the forward end. The :abpye described p vot-ins pithoeamhrs awhichznoti nlyi tracts the fingers on the return travel butzenables them to .be presented at ri ht angles :to the- 1mnel atia-ll :times, :is veryreffectizve i increasin the picking efiiciency of the machine.

iRotationaof the -indiyidnal :fingers 255 .iis limited to less than one-half :of dz-he itotal Lcarrior travel. This feature also reduces :the power .reduired-.to

-drive1the .pickereand:eliminateseunnecessany wear.

Airack 9a iiszmountemdirectly underneath: sprock- -.ets1d5and 85' and 50 apositiorredithatipinion 6-.4 issadapted :to'be driven by thoracic when; each carrier arrives atithe beginning .ifiazof ithe" rack.

The rack follows :the .-curvature of =rear=sprocket r85 :an'diterminates :atiilflbrtozstop'zfurther rotation of the fingers when these have :been withdrawn from the tunnel lifi.

:In order to provide positive: smooth initial en gagement-of pinion I64 and rack 30, a rubber If desired, the base of tunnel "-50 may be re- 75-bu'mpe'r' ill tl lig. 1.1) ziszseoureditostherbeglnning 90a of rack 90 by means of screw 92. A pair of .spring fingers 93 and 94 which are spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the pitch of the teeth in rack 90 are interposed between bumper 9| and the first tooth of the rack. Springs 93 and 94 are also secured to the rack by means of screw 92. The resilient bumper'together with the resiliency of springs 93 and 94 readily serves to align the teeth of pinion 64 so that engagement with the rack is accomplished Without clashing of gear teeth.

It will be understood that the construction of Fig. 4 applies to each set of fingers, there being a similar assembly on either side of tunnel 50;;the

fingers in both sets, however, running from front to back over the sprockets and the showing at the left hand side of the tunnel 50 would merely be the reverse of Fig. 4.

The drive for both sets of sprockets is provided through the uppermost driven sprockets I05 and I05 mounted on shafts BI and 8| for each finger assembly. Sprockets I05 and I05 are in turn driven from small sprockets I06 and I06 by chains I07 and I91 as shown in Fig. 2. Gearing boxes I03 and I08 carry sprockets I06 and I06 and serve to transmit driving force from engine to the sprockets through the driven member I09 of clutch 40, belt M and shafts III and III.

Referring now to Figs. 7-10, the construction of the individual fingers 55 will be more fully described.

Each finger comprises a tapered base member 55a of generally square cross section. ()pposite faces of the finger proper 55a are channeled to receive tapered keys I I5, I I5 which serve to retain blades H8, H6 in the member 55a. The blades H6 extend diagonally at each corner of member 55a and have extrusions III, I I1 extending alternately on each side of the blade which serve to lock the blades securely in the members 55a. Each blade is provided with buttress-shaped teeth 99 as shown in Fig. 8 which facilitate the wiping action of doffers 95 and 96. The blades, as well as the keys II5, are retained in members 5501. by means of screws H8 and it will be apparent that this construction permits quick blade replacement in the field without the necessity of installing entirely new fingers as is current practice.

A modified form of finger without the removable blade feature is illustrated in Fig. 10 which shows a tapered finger 55b of generally square cross section having along each corner thereof a plurality of teeth 99' of similar buttress form. The finger of Fig. 10 provides generally satisfactory operation and is less expensive to manufacture but is not suitable for service where frequent replacement is required.

Having chosen the barbed rotating-finger method of removing the cotton from its parent plant, I realize that this method has been used by others. However, many have found it necessary to dampen the picking fingers to secure sufiicient adherence of the cotton, while others have used excessively sharp barbs from which the lint is not readily stripped. These difliculties have been obviated by using spindles of rather large size, spaced closely enough both horizontally and vertically to contact any opened cotton boll of normal size, and rotating these fingers at moderate speed. To increase the probability of encountering the greatest possible number of opened bolls, I have inclined the fingers downwardly toward their tips, as cotton bolls rarely hang straight down, but rather incline downward and outwardly from the plant. This slope therefore brings the finger in contact with the lint in the most favorable position to ensure its wrapping about the finger and being withdrawn from the-boll. Moreover, since the closeness of spacing in the horizontal direction is limited by the necessary working clearance between adjacent finger carriers, it is advisable to arrange the motions of the machine so that the fingers travel rearwardly along the tunnel, not precisely at the same speed as the rate of progress of the entire machine over the ground, but at a slightly different rate, so that the fingers travel longitudi nally through the plant about the same distance as the horizontal spacing of the fingers during their contact with the plant.

To simplify the problem of removing the lint from the fingers after picking, I have arranged to cause rotation of the fingers to cease as soon as they have been withdrawn from the plant, and before they come in contact with the doflers. Since the fiber is not wound with excessive tightness about the fingers, it is readily slid off the free ends of the fingers by a relatively light rubbing contact. An air blast entering a collector pipe is adequate provision to ensure that the picked cotton will not accumulate in inaccessible locations inside the machine.

A method of setting the fingers to rotating has tended to discourage many from stopping the fingers at any point of the picking cycle. The use of a friction drive, using a resilient material to contact the pinion teeth, offers a simple solution to this problem, while the spring teeth next encountered by the finger-drivin pinions presents a means for ensuring accurate mesh when the rigid teeth of the driving rack are encountered.

The closed-path cam or channel which determines the angle at which the fingers stand with respect to the carrier chains, makes possible entry of the fingers into the cotton endwise, instead of with a sweeping motion, minimizing twig breakage; and disengagement is achieved in the same manner. Likewise, the fingers may be kept substantially normal to the doifer strips during doffing. Finally, during the idle travel of the finger carriers back to the front of the machine, they may be positioned at a substantial angle to a fore-and-aft line, so as to occupy a minimum of width, which space is at a premium on account of the close row spacing sometimes followed in planting cotton. At the front of the machine, the finger carriers must swing through a large angle in a short time, but the cam may readily be proportioned to make the acceleration moderate and smooth.

It is desirable that lubrication be supplied to all working parts, and this may well be provided by drip-feed lubricators adapted to apply lubricant to each spindle carrier as it passes, entering through a felt filter at the top, entering the housing, and running down the .vertical shaft, being distributed therefrom by centrifugal force.

I claim:

1. In cotton picking apparatus, a picker finger comprising a body of polygonal form having grooves along each corner thereof, narrow toothed strips detachably retained in said grooves and having efiectively thickened portions along the edge opposite the teeth, and clamping means for securing the strips in said grooves.

2. A cotton picking finger for cotton pickers, comprising an assembly including a tapered finger body having a generally polygonal transverse cr'oss'fsectifin and an :axxial groove at eflhvaizex Wshereef, arremovauble blade inreach oisaidz'growgs, and means engaging ath'e blades :tor retaining said blades-imthmgnooves.

3. apparatus in accordance with 'c'laim 2, sin 5 which mhe =brad'es have unidirectional zpointing teeth.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, in which the blades have lateral offsets adapted :to ccoperatewithzan undercut portionbf thergnooves i0) retaining the blades therein.

5. =Kpparatus in accordance with claim '2, .in which -i;he means for .retairfing the blafies to dine fingers comprises a detachable :tapered plate.

8 PREFERENGES "The fnllewing references are -0f record 'iti :izh file at this patent:

UNITED STATES 'PAHENTS Number Name .Date

6855432 Campbell Qct. 39,1901 840367 :Piper Jam. 1,;1907 955521 Hangman 2- akpr. 19, 1910 1-0 111843795 Molkman :May 30,1916 1,824,223 Meyercund et.a1.. :Se1it.22,;1-931 1,9i11i686 'Wi-rth.- Mantlfi, 1933 230235491 Rust-.tzal 3Dec.1i0, 1935 23403631 Johnston Dec. 20,2938 

